物流联盟：欧洲一体化趋势与展望外文翻译.docVIP

外文翻译 原文 LOGISTICAL ALLIANCES: TRENDS AND PROSPECTS IN INTEGRATED EUROPE Material Source: JOORNAL OE BUSINESS LOGISTICS. Author: PrabirK.Bagchi Helge Virum The processes of integration in Europe, the GATT agreements, and the developments in Eastern Europe are bringing radical changes to the European business environment. The European Union (EU) may become the wealthiest and perhaps the largest market in the world. The proposed union has already had an enormous influence on the business structure of every member country, as once protected industries lose national patronage and regulatory shields and face stiff competition in a more open marketplace. The intensity will only increase in the future. At the same time, new market opportunities are becoming available in many industries. Recent studies have shown that the integration process in Europe is already having a major effect on the transportation and logistics sector. Experts often say that we live in a global economy. As countries open their markets,competition intensifies. Business decisions have become more globalized. The whole world becomesthe center stage for leading-edge companies. Such companies procure materials from and distributefinished goods all over the world. Logistics becomes an area of strategic importance and a source forcompetitive advantage. A close examination of global trade during the last ten years reveals that worldwide growth of imports and exports far outstripped GNP growth during the same period.According to the UN Statistical Yearbook, in dollar terms, international trade was 10 times larger in 1990 than 1970. This spectacular growth in international trade took place both in sourcing of raw materials, components, and semi-finished goods and in global distribution of finished products.Domestic markets in developed countries no longer mean domestic competitors only. Thus, in the 1990s and beyond, the continued existence of a company may depend on how succes